#AtoZChallenge: Life in Local Train – Zeal

In the mid of March, my replacement arrived in the branch and I got the transfer to Ahmedabad. My transfer letter arrived with him. It was a big surprise. After the arrival of my replacement, I was on cloud nine. He was from Vadodara and his name was Parth. He was working with used car seller in Vadodara before getting this job. After his arrival in the branch, I knew that I will not be relieved immediately. My branch manager instructed me to close the accounts properly and to train Parth well during the closing of that financial year. He assured me that I will be relieved after submission of accounts. After that assurance, I started working more efficiently. I pushed Parth as well to concentrate on the job. Parth was coming in the branch at the crunch time. So it was bit difficult for him to take in all the things in one go.

Coincidentally, Dwarkesh Kaka also got the transfer along with me. He was transferred to Nadiad from Anand. Thus he had no other option than to continue commuting.

“What? You got transfer in just one and a half years despite of three years policy of the company?” Haresh Kaka was surprised when Dwarkesh Kaka broke the news of my transfer to him. Though Haresh Kaka was surprised after hearing about my transfer but I was not surprised with his reaction. He thought my attitude towards the job is not right. And I am not going to get promotion or transfer easily but that transfer letter was the perfect reply to him.

Commuting from Vadodara to Anand was easier. The time table and the schedule of railways was such that in the morning, the frequency of trains from Vadodara towards Ahmedabad was more than the frequency from Ahmedabad to Vadodara. While in the evening, the frequency of trains from Ahmedabad towards Vadodara was more than the frequency from Vadodara to Ahemdabad. Thus commuting between Anand and Vadodara was easier than commuting between Ahmedabad and Anand. Distance between Anand and Vadodara was of thirty kilometers. Parth was lucky that he got posting in the city which was only thirty kilometers from his home town. Not only trains, the frequency of buses was also good between Anand and Vadodara and as the distance was less between the two cities. So commuting via bus was also affordable.

With the addition of Parth, the speed of my work increased. He was catching up the things faster. So I was sharing my work with him to give him more and more confidence. He adapted to the system by the end of March and started working on his own. During the last week of March, I started commuting in Gandhinagar memu. Again it was difficult but I was doing it happily at that time because at the back of my mind I was thinking that it is just the matter of two weeks. In the morning as well, I started counting the number of days remaining before going to sleep in Anand memu. So the countdown of commuting via local train was on along with the closure of financial year.

In the first four days of April, I closed the accounts of branch and submitted the file to divisional office. After that, I was simply waiting for the green signal from my branch manager but he kept me on hold till the accounts of regional office were submitted to the head office. He relieved me at the end of the second week of April. From the third week, I resumed my duties in the regional office of Ahmedabad. It was like a new beginning.

The kind of zeal I displayed in last two weeks, I don’t think I showed that kind of zeal in one and a half years of my commutation. In cities like Mumbai, travelling and commuting in local trains is lifestyle. While in the cities of Gujarat, travelling and commuting in local trains is struggle. One needs to have the zeal to spend around four hours or more than that in local trains because life in local trains is not easy. One needs motivation and zeal to make it easy.